


Strands of Pink

by TheHomestuckWhovian



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Backstory, F/F, Hair Dyeing, Insecurity, Relationship Discussions
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-20
Updated: 2018-05-20
Packaged: 2019-05-08 11:15:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14693066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHomestuckWhovian/pseuds/TheHomestuckWhovian
Summary: Sheena had lost hope of the cute girl she met at a concert ever calling her until months later.Unfortunately, pursuing Pearl means trouble, from feeling inadequate compared to a beautiful, ethereal dead woman, to befriending the family just as they are settling down from a reveal that rocked their world.But Sheena isn't an immortal rock lady. She doesn't have magic, or a thousand year history of fighting with Pearl, or anything really. How is she going to register as even a blip in Pearl's life?





	Strands of Pink

**Author's Note:**

> Everyone seems to show Mystery Girl as cool and secure and collected...and my anxious ass is like "no character is going to be well-adjusted!"
> 
> ~~You ruined a perfectly good Mystery Girl. Look at her, she's got anxiety!~~
> 
> Little Warning: This story will discuss spoilers from A Single Pale Rose, the Heart of the Crystal Gems event, and Legs From Here To Homeworld.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some toilet cleaning, a concert, and the Renaissance.

Sheena was cleaning her toilet when she received a phone call.

She expected it to be her mother, disappointed in her again, or a telemarketer.

"Hello?"

"Hi! Um, this is Pearl."

Sheena instantly recalled the thin, bird like woman with the gem in her forehead she met a concert, and scribbling her phone number on a thin slip of paper out of curiosity and interest. She also remembered waiting a week for a call before losing hope in getting a call at all.

"Oh, hi."

"Sorry it took so long to call," Pearl apologized, laughing nervously. "I only recently purchased a phone and then there was so much going on that I only just now got the chance. I never caught your name?"

"Sheena."

"That's a lovely name!"

She blushed slightly at the compliment, saying, "Thanks. Your name is really nice too."

"Thank you."

Sheena leaned against the bathroom counter before asking, "Uh, would you like to come with me to a concert in Empire City this Saturday?"

"That sounds fun! What time should we meet up?"

"Uh, around eight thirty? I can send you the address."

"Alright! It's a date. Bye!"

"Bye."

As she hung up, Sheena looked at her half-clean toilet before a goofy grin made its way to her face, and she shouted, "Yes!" loud enough to be heard through the thin walls. She didn't care, though.

She had a date.

* * *

The days leading up to Saturday were filled with panicking over what to wear, touching up her roots, making sure her motercycle was in top condition, and in general just in a state of mixed anxiety and excitement over her date.

Then her mother did decide to call, and that usually sucked the joy out of everything, so for two days before the date, all she felt was anxiety to the point that she considered canceling.

But no, she was going to that damn concert with that cute lady who was probably an immortal warrior who had previously saved the human race, and her mother wouldn't ruin that.

* * *

She tugged on the sleeves of her red flannel, fidgeting nervously as she waited for her date. She had debated wearing it over her black sports bra or tying it around her waist for hours before deciding to go with the former. She preferred fidgeting with her sleeve over biting her nails or kicking her feet, and at her level of anxiety she simply couldn't sit still.

Then Pearl arrived, smiling brightly, and some of the tension alleviated as the two of them greeted each other and headed in.

Sheena learned many things in quick succession about Pearl: whatever she was, she didn't need to eat or drink and didn't particularly like to do so anyway; her body and most of her clothing were hard light constructs projected from her gem but the leather jacket was real cloth, and her taste in music leaned more towards classical but she did enjoy a rock concert every now and then.

"So, have you ever tried food?"

"Yes, of course," Pearl explained. "I believe the last time I tried it was during the Italian Renaissance actually. Italian food smells absolutely devine but process of eating was so uncomfortable." She made a face as she recalled. "I do enjoy cooking and making tea, mostly for the smell more than anything. Amethyst likes to eat and Steven needs to, so I do get plenty of opportunities to cook."

"You were in Italy for the Renaissance?" Sheena asked, her eyes wide.

"Oh, only for a brief time. We were mostly in Italy for the food at Amethyst's request. I only realized how significant that time period was later. I do enjoy the work of Artemisia Gentileschi."

Sheena didn't recognize the name, but the way Pearl brought it up made her decide to check that out.

The two continued to lean against the wall as Sheena sipped her water, listening to Pearl as she talked about what she remembered of Renaissance Italy.

"What is your life like anyway?" Pearl asked, smiling up at her.

She gave a half-hearted shrug. "Nothing really special. Go to work, go home, eat food, go to the occasional concert. Nothing major."

"Where do you work?"

"Oh, at the Ocean City library. It's...it's a lot smaller than it used to be."

"So you work with books?"

Sheena grinned. "Yeah, I really like reading. I also used to be a drummer in a band, but we broke up when our lead singer got a solo show in Empire City without telling us and dropped us hard. I can also play piano, but I'm much better at trap set."

"I'd love to hear you play some time," Pearl said, smiling. Her eyes glanced at something off to the right before looking back at you. "I can play violin. Maybe we could play a duet some time?"

"That sounds like fun." She looked at what Pearl had seen and held back a snort, instead continuing, "Anyway, I do like reading a lot. The head librarian is thankfully cool with my hair dye and piercings, though it might just be that she was just desparate for anyone to work there after losing half the books. I started full time after I finished college."

"That sounds like a lot of work."

Sheena shrugged. "It's okay."

Pearl glanced off to the side again and gave a laughing sigh. "Did Amethyst really think I wouldn't recognize her? No amount of shapeshifting will disguise that she's purple."

"Not to mention that the kid looks out of place next to her," Sheena remarked. "Let's see how long it takes for them to realize we noticed them."

The two looked off at the unsubtle pair.

"So, is Steven your kid then?"

Pearl paused. "It's...complicated. His mother and I were very close, as were Amethyst and Garnet, and since his father lives in a van and he needed to undergo some training, he came to live with us. Greg was his primary guardian and Steven is well aware of his mother and hasn't assigned any of us that particular role in his life, which none of us expected him to do anyway, but I do care for him deeply." She had a warm, happy smile on her face at that, which was adorable.

Sheena was going to speak up when Steven made eye contact with her, and he blinked in surprise. She gave a smile and pressed a finger to her lips, and he grinned and shot her a finger gun before talking to Amethyst, who hadn't noticed.

"He seems like a good kid. How old is he?"

"Fourteen."

Dang, he looked younger than he was. Ah, well, puberty was overrated anyway. Steven had probably dodged a bullet, at least for the time being.

"So, why do you think they decided to spy on us?"

Pearl groaned. "Oh, Amethyst likes to think she is my wingman and Steven is probably trying to keep her in check. I'll talk to her about it later."

"It's kind of adorable. They must really care about you."

She blinked, then looked over at the two. After a moment, a small smile made it onto her face.

"Yeah, I guess they do."

* * *

"Well, that was a lot of fun," Pearl remarked, grinning as they exited the venue. "I should probably go find Amethyst and Steven so I can give them a ride home."

"Sounds like a plan." Sheena hesitated, before offering, "We could...uh...we could do something like this again, if you want?"

"I'd like that."

"Alright, well, I guess you better go wrangle those two. Later, Pearl."

"Bye, Sheena. Oh, I'll text you!" With that, she headed back inside the venue.

Sheena had a goofy smile on her face all the way back home.

* * *

" _...Why can't you be more like your brother? I told you to find a nice someone in college-_ "

She hung up on the answering machine, groaning. She refused to let her mother ruin this night for her, after she went on a nice date with an awesome immortal alien lady who was probably lightyears out of her league and somehow managed to get a possible second date out of this.

Her phone buzzed, and she checked to see a text from Pearl, which included a photo of Amethyst and Steven asleep in the back of a car.

_Just got them home for the night. Steven wants you to visit the temple in the future._

That may have single-handedly saved her mood from the dark pit her mother almost sent it down, and she smiled as she saved the picture onto her phone.

Maybe this would go well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> · Check out Artemisia Gentileschi''s _Judith slaying Holofernes_. It's epic.  
>  · The Ocean City Library had some pretty bad losses after the fire, and many of the employees quit  
> · This story takes place months after Legs From Here To Homeworld

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr is boopboopitydoop.tumblr.com if you want to shout at me about Mystery Girl and Pearl or just Steven Universe in general.


End file.
